Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
Page 51
PURPORT
In this verse Lord Kṛṣṇa stresses the importance of remembering Him. One’s memory of Kṛṣṇa is revived by chanting the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. Puruṣam means enjoyer. Although living entities belong to the marginal energy of the Supreme Lord, they are in material contamination. They think themselves enjoyers, but they are not the supreme enjoyer. Here it is clearly stated that the supreme enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His different manifestations and plenary expansions as Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva, etc.
The devotee can constantly think of the object of worship, the Supreme Lord, in any of His features – Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, etc. – by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This practice will purify him, and at the end of his life, due to his constant chanting, he will be transferred to the kingdom of God. Yoga practice is meditation on the Supersoul within; similarly, by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one fixes his mind always on the Supreme Lord. The mind is fickle, and therefore it is necessary to engage the mind by force to think of Kṛṣṇa. One example often given is that of the caterpillar that thinks of becoming a butterfly and so is transformed into a butterfly in the same life. Similarly, if we constantly think of Kṛṣṇa, it is certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same bodily constitution as Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 9
कविं पुराणमनुशासितारमणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः ।
सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूपमादित्यवर्णं तभसः परस्तात् ।। 9 ।।
kaviṁ purāṇam anuśāsitāram
aṇor aṇīyāṁsam anusmared yaḥ
sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam
āditya-varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt
kavim – the one who knows everything; purāṇam – the oldest; anuśāsitāram – the controller; aṇoḥ – than the atom; aṇīyāṁsam – smaller; anusmaret – always thinks of; yaḥ – one who; sarvasya – of everything; dhātāram – the maintainer; acintya – inconceivable; rūpam – whose form; āditya-varṇam – luminous like the sun; tamasaḥ – to darkness; parastāt – transcendental.
TRANSLATION
One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as He who is the oldest, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is inconceivable, and who is always a person. He is luminous like the sun, and He is transcendental, beyond this material nature.
PURPORT
The process of thinking of the Supreme is mentioned in this verse. The foremost point is that He is not impersonal or void. One cannot meditate on something impersonal or void. That is very difficult. The process of thinking of Kṛṣṇa, however, is very easy and is factually stated herein. First of all, the Lord is puruṣa, a person – we think of the person Rāma and the person Kṛṣṇa. And whether one thinks of Rāma or of Kṛṣṇa, what He is like is described in this verse of Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord is kavi; that is, He knows past, present and future and therefore knows everything. He is the oldest personality because He is the origin of everything; everything is born out of Him. He is also the supreme controller of the universe, and He is the maintainer and instructor of humanity. He is smaller than the smallest. The living entity is one ten-thousandth part of the tip of a hair, but the Lord is so inconceivably small that He enters into the heart of this particle. Therefore He is called smaller than the smallest. As the Supreme, He can enter into the atom and into the heart of the smallest and control him as the Supersoul. Although so small, He is still all-pervading and is maintaining everything. By Him all these planetary systems are sustained. We often wonder how these big planets are floating in the air. It is stated here that the Supreme Lord, by His inconceivable energy, is sustaining all these big planets and systems of galaxies. The word acintya (“inconceivable”) is very significant in this connection. God’s energy is beyond our conception, beyond our thinking jurisdiction, and is therefore called inconceivable (acintya). Who can argue this point? He pervades this material world and yet is beyond it. We cannot comprehend even this material world, which is insignificant compared to the spiritual world – so how can we comprehend what is beyond? Acintya means that which is beyond this material world, that which our argument, logic and philosophical speculation cannot touch, that which is inconceivable. Therefore intelligent persons, avoiding useless argument and speculation, should accept what is stated in scriptures like the Vedas, Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and follow the principles they set down. This will lead one to understanding.
TEXT 10
प्रयाणकाले मनसाचलेन भक्त्यायुक्तो योगबलेन चैव ।
भ्रुवोर्मध्ये प्राणमावेश्य सम्यक् स तं परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ।। 10 ।।
prayāṇa-kāle manasācalena
bhaktyā yukto yoga-balena caiva
bhruvor madhye prāṇam āveśya samyak
sa taṁ paraṁ puruṣam upaiti divyam
prayāṇa-kāle – at the time of death; manasā – by the mind; acalena – without its being deviated; bhaktyā – in full devotion; yuktaḥ – engaged; yoga-balena – by the power of mystic yoga; ca – also; eva – certainly; bhruvoḥ – the two eyebrows; madhye – between; prāṇam – the life air; āveśya – establishing; samyak – completely; saḥ – he; tam – that; param – transcendental; puruṣam – Personality of Godhead; upaiti – achieves; divyam – in the spiritual kingdom.
TRANSLATION
One who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between the eyebrows and, by the strength of yoga, with an undeviating mind, engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord in full devotion, will certainly attain to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
In this verse it is clearly stated that at the time of death the mind must be fixed in devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For those practiced in yoga, it is recommended that they raise the life force between the eyebrows (to the ājñā-cakra). The practice of ṣaṭ-cakra-yoga, involving meditation on the six cakras, is suggested here. A pure devotee does not practice such yoga, but because he is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, at death he can remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His grace. This is explained in verse 14.
The particular use of the word yoga-balena is significant in this verse because without practice of yoga – whether ṣaṭ-cakra-yoga or bhakti-yoga – one cannot come to this transcendental state of being at the time of death. One cannot suddenly remember the Supreme Lord at death; one must have practiced some yoga system, especially the system of bhakti-yoga. Since one’s mind at death is very disturbed, one should practice transcendence through yoga during one’s life.
TEXT 11
यदक्षरं वेदविदो वदन्ति विशन्ति यद्यतयो वतिरागाः ।
यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्यचर्यं चरन्ति तत्ते पदं सङ्ग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये ।। 11 ।।
yad akṣaraṁ veda-vido vadanti
viśanti yad yatayo vīta-rāgāḥ
yad icchanto brahma-caryaṁ caranti
tat te padaṁ saṅgraheṇa pravakṣye
yat – that which; akṣaram – syllable oṁ; veda-vidaḥ – persons conversant with the Vedas; vadanti – say; viśanti – enter; yat – in which; yatayaḥ – great sages; vīta-rāgāḥ – in the renounced order of life; yat – that which; icchantaḥ – desiring; brah
ma-caryam – celibacy; caranti – practice; tat – that; te – unto you; padam – situation; saṅgraheṇa – in summary; pravakṣye – I shall explain.
TRANSLATION
Persons who are learned in the Vedas, who utter oṁ-kāra, and who are great sages in the renounced order enter into Brahman. Desiring such perfection, one practices celibacy. I shall now briefly explain to you this process by which one may attain salvation.
PURPORT
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has recommended to Arjuna the practice of ṣaṭ-cakra-yoga, in which one places the air of life between the eyebrows. Taking it for granted that Arjuna might not know how to practice ṣaṭ-cakra-yoga, the Lord explains the process in the following verses. The Lord says that Brahman, although one without a second, has various manifestations and features. Especially for the impersonalists, the akṣara, or oṁ-kāra – the syllable oṁ – is identical with Brahman. Kṛṣṇa here explains the impersonal Brahman, into which the renounced order of sages enter.
In the Vedic system of knowledge, students, from the very beginning, are taught to vibrate oṁ and learn of the ultimate impersonal Brahman by living with the spiritual master in complete celibacy. In this way they realize two of Brahman’s features. This practice is very essential for the student’s advancement in spiritual life, but at the moment such brahmacārī (unmarried celibate) life is not at all possible. The social construction of the world has changed so much that there is no possibility of one’s practicing celibacy from the beginning of student life. Throughout the world there are many institutions for different departments of knowledge, but there is no recognized institution where students can be educated in the brahmacārī principles. Unless one practices celibacy, advancement in spiritual life is very difficult. Therefore Lord Caitanya has announced, according to the scriptural injunctions for this Age of Kali, that in this age no process of realizing the Supreme is possible except the chanting of the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
TEXT 12
सर्वदूाराणि संयम्य मनो हृदि निरुध्य च ।
मूध्न्र्यात्मनः प्राणमास्थितो योगधारणम् ॥ 12 ॥
sarva-dvārāṇi saṁyamya
mano hṛdi nirudhya ca
mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam
āsthito yoga-dhāraṇām
sarva-dvārāṇi – all the doors of the body; saṁyamya – controlling; manaḥ – the mind; hṛdi – in the heart; nirudhya – confining; ca – also; mūrdhni – on the head; ādhāya – fixing; ātmanaḥ – of the soul; prāṇam – the life air; āsthitaḥ – situated in; yoga-dhāraṇām – the yogic situation.
TRANSLATION
The yogic situation is that of detachment from all sensual engagements. Closing all the doors of the senses and fixing the mind on the heart and the life air at the top of the head, one establishes himself in yoga.
PURPORT
To practice yoga as suggested here, one first has to close the doors of all sense enjoyment. This practice is called pratyāhāra, or withdrawing the senses from the sense objects. The sense organs for acquiring knowledge – the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch – should be fully controlled and should not be allowed to engage in self-gratification. In this way the mind focuses on the Supersoul in the heart, and the life force is raised to the top of the head. In the Sixth Chapter this process is described in detail. But as mentioned before, this practice is not practical in this age. The best process is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one is always able to fix his mind on Kṛṣṇa in devotional service, it is very easy for him to remain in an undisturbed transcendental trance, or in samādhi.
TEXT 13
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन्।
यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ।। 13 ।।
oṁ ity ekākṣaraṁ brahma
vyāharan mām anusmaran
yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṁ
sa yāti paramāṁ gatim
oṁ – the combination of letters oṁ (oṁ-kāra); iti – thus; eka-akṣaram – the one syllable; brahma – absolute; vyāharan – vibrating; mām – Me (Kṛṣṇa); anusmaran – remembering; yaḥ – anyone who; prayāti – leaves; tyajan – quitting; deham – this body; saḥ – he; yāti – achieves; paramām – the supreme; gatim – destination.
TRANSLATION
After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable oṁ, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets.
PURPORT
It is clearly stated here that oṁ, Brahman and Lord Kṛṣṇa are not different. The impersonal sound of Kṛṣṇa is oṁ, but the sound Hare Kṛṣṇa contains oṁ. The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is clearly recommended for this age. So if one quits his body at the end of life chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, he certainly reaches one of the spiritual planets, according to the mode of his practice. The devotees of Kṛṣṇa enter the Kṛṣṇa planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana. For the personalists there are also innumerable other planets, known as Vaikuṇṭha planets, in the spiritual sky, whereas the impersonalists remain in the brahma-jyotir.
TEXT 14
अनन्यचेताः सततं यो मां स्मरति नित्यशः ।
तस्याहं सुलभः पार्थ नित्ययुक्तस्य योगिनः ।। 14 ।।
ananya-cetāḥ satataṁ
yo māṁ smarati nityaśaḥ
tasyāhaṁ su-labhaḥ pārtha
nitya-yuktasya yoginaḥ
ananya-cetāḥ – without deviation of the mind; satatam – always; yaḥ – anyone who; mām – Me (Kṛṣṇa); smarati – remembers; nityaśaḥ – regularly; tasya – to him; aham – I am; su-labhaḥ – very easy to achieve; pārtha – O son of Pṛthā; nitya – regularly; yuktasya – engaged; yoginaḥ – for the devotee.
TRANSLATION
For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Pṛthā, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.
PURPORT
This verse especially describes the final destination attained by the unalloyed devotees who serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead in bhakti-yoga. Previous verses have mentioned four different kinds of devotees – the distressed, the inquisitive, those who seek material gain, and the speculative philosophers. Different processes of liberation have also been described: karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and haṭha-yoga. The principles of these yoga systems have some bhakti added, but this verse particularly mentions pure bhakti-yoga, without any mixture of jñāna, karma or haṭha. As indicated by the word ananya-cetāḥ, in pure bhakti-yoga the devotee desires nothing but Kṛṣṇa. A pure devotee does not desire promotion to heavenly planets, nor does he seek oneness with the brahma-jyotir or salvation or liberation from material entanglement. A pure devotee does not desire anything. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the pure devotee is called niṣkāma, which means he has no desire for self-interest. Perfect peace belongs to him alone, not to them who strive for personal gain. Whereas a jñāna-yogī, karma-yogī or haṭha-yogī has his own selfish interests, a perfect devotee has no desire other than to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord says that for anyone who is unflinchingly devoted to Him, He is easy to attain.
A pure devotee always engages in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa in one of His various personal features. Kṛṣṇa has various plenary expansions and incarnations, such as Rāma and Nṛs
iṁha, and a devotee can choose to fix his mind in loving service to any of these transcendental forms of the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee meets with none of the problems that plague the practitioners of other yogas. Bhakti-yoga is very simple and pure and easy to perform. One can begin simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The Lord is merciful to all, but as we have already explained, He is especially inclined toward those who always serve Him without deviation. The Lord helps such devotees in various ways. As stated in the Vedas (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23), yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas/ tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanuṁ svām: one who is fully surrendered and engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord can understand the Supreme Lord as He is. And as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10), dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam: the Lord gives such a devotee sufficient intelligence so that ultimately the devotee can attain Him in His spiritual kingdom.
The special qualification of the pure devotee is that he is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa without deviation and without considering the time or place. There should be no impediments. He should be able to carry out his service anywhere and at any time. Some say that the devotee should remain in holy places like Vṛndāvana or some holy town where the Lord lived, but a pure devotee can live anywhere and create the atmosphere of Vṛndāvana by his devotional service. It was Śrī Advaita who told Lord Caitanya, “Wherever You are, O Lord – there is Vṛndāvana.”
As indicated by the words satatam and nityaśaḥ, which mean “always,” “regularly,” or “every day,” a pure devotee constantly remembers Kṛṣṇa and meditates upon Him. These are qualifications of the pure devotee, for whom the Lord is most easily attainable. Bhakti-yoga is the system that the Gītā recommends above all others. Generally, the bhakti-yogīs are engaged in five different ways: (1) śānta-bhakta, engaged in devotional service in neutrality; (2) dāsya-bhakta, engaged in devotional service as servant; (3) sakhya-bhakta, engaged as friend; (4) vātsalya-bhakta, engaged as parent; and (5) mādhurya-bhakta, engaged as conjugal lover of the Supreme Lord. In any of these ways, the pure devotee is always constantly engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord and cannot forget the Supreme Lord, and so for him the Lord is easily attained. A pure devotee cannot forget the Supreme Lord for a moment, and similarly the Supreme Lord cannot forget His pure devotee for a moment. This is the great blessing of the Kṛṣṇa conscious process of chanting the mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.